Pistons beat reporter Coty Davis talks to Holland, Jenkins in Las Vegas.
Pistons beat reporter Coty Davis talks to Holland, Jenkins in Las Vegas.
Detroit — Bouncing back from a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, the Detroit Pistons recorded a 108-88 win over the Miami Heat on Thursday afternoon at Cox Pavilion.
The Pistons improved to 3-1 during the 2K26 Summer League tournament in Las Vegas. With one more game left, the league has not announced Detroit’s final opponent.
Bobi Klintman had his best performance of the summer with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor with three made 3-point field goals, four rebounds, three steals and a block. Daniss Jenkins added 16 points while shooting 3-of-11 from the field (9-of-11 FT). He scored 11 points in the third quarter after a slow first half.
The Pistons’ performance against the Heat was more impressive, considering they achieved it without Ron Holland II.
A team source told The Detroit News that the Pistons have seen enough from the second-year forward and decided to shut him down for the rest of the Summer League. Holland played in three games, averaging 21.7 points on 46.7% 3-point shooting, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.0 steals.
It was a wire-to-wire victory for the Pistons, who led by as many as 26 points. When compared to their poor performance against the Timberwolves two days ago, the Pistons showed improvement in various areas. The most notable improvement was in managing their turnovers, as the team finished with 13.
Dawson Garcia received his first start amid the absence of Holland and finished with 12 points, five rebounds and a block. Rookie guard Zakai Zeigler contributed with a summer-best 15 points and four assists.
Myron Gardner scored 19 points to lead the Heat, while Erik Stevenson added 15 points, four rebounds, and a block.
Observations and notes vs. Heat
â–¶ A sizzling start: Against the Heat, the Pistons had their best start of the Summer League tournament. They jumped out to a 27-9 lead by the 2:58 mark of the first quarter. Detroit connected on five of its first six attempts from behind the arc. Dawson Garcia and Miller Kopp accounted for four of the Pistons’ five made triples. Detroit finished the quarter shooting 6-of-8 on 3-point shooting.
â–¶ Dropping dimes for a double-double: Daniss Jenkins has been the Pistons’ second-best scorer in Las Vegas. He has averaged 17.3 points while shooting 57.6% from the floor (53.8% 3PT) through the first three games. Against the Heat, Jenkins proved that he could be just as productive as a facilitator by recording 10 assists with no turnovers.
â–¶ Getting feisty: The game intensified during the third quarter, resulting in five technical fouls. Bobi Klintman, Zakai Zeigler, and coach Vitaly Potapenko contributed three technical fouls for the Pistons. Marcus Williams and Coach Eric Glass notched a combined two technical fouls for Miami.
coty.davis@detroitnews.com
@cotydavis_24